Q: How is the number 862,813,740 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 8.6281374 x 108
The purpose of scientific notation is for scientists to write very large, or very small, numbers with ease.
Calculating scientific notation for a positive integer is simple, as it always follows this notation:
a x 10b
Follow the steps below to see how 862,813,740 is written in scientific notation.
To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.
Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.
| New Number: | 8 | . | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
There are 8 places to the right of the decimal place.
Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.
Remember, the notation is: a x 10b
a = 8.6281374 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
8.6281374 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 8.6281374 = 862,813,740
| 862,813,738 | 862,813,739 | 862,813,741 | 862,813,742 |
| 8.62813738 x 108 | 8.62813739 x 108 | 8.62813741 x 108 | 8.62813742 x 108 |